13.2 Thirsty, Perspiring, Tired

New long today. I wanted to try out the half marathon route, which is down Shel Toomer Bike Path, then out Ogletree Rd to Moore's Mill, and back. According to the pedometer, it's 13.2 miles. Yay, I did it. It was overcast but a bit warm. I didn't need spandex to keep warm, but I wore it anyway. I need to get some biker shorts or something like it for the upcoming warmer months. I started to get thirsty and hungry on the way, which is good for the burning of calories, I suppose, but is making me a little light headed at the moment. I'm imbibing 2 packets of Emergen-C Joint Health instead of one, which is my typical post run quaff.

Playlist
I listened to an audiobook on the life of Buddha, which was an interesting choice due to frequent reference to suffering.

Times
L1 8:37
L2 7:16
L3 14:41
L4 15:19
L5 8:04
L6 34:22
L7 35:20
L8 9:05
Total 2:12:44. Definitely slowed down a bit as I ran, which isn't too surprising.

New Route, New Long or From Fat to Ashes

Today's title is a reflection of my love for Bullwinkle cartoons, which always had two titles. Yesterday was Mardi Gras, and I did party hardily, feasting on jambalaya with lots of naughty cholesterol-bearing meats, and drinking a generous amount of beer and wine (though not a ridiculous amount). Today, therefore is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, and though I'm not a devout person, I do like to engage in the spiritual fasting of the Lenten Season, giving up a vice or other bad habit for the forty days 'till Easter Sunday. This year, I'm going to try giving up meat (except fish), which I've cut way back on anyway to try and get my cholesterol numbers back into whack. And to celebrate and atone for yesterday's excesses, I decided to take a new route, which turned into a new long. I decided to go along University to Moore's Mill, down the big hill and back up the other side to Ogletree, and once I got back to Wright's Mill, I decided to head out to Shel Toomer and back, rather than just head home. I'm not exactly sure how long the run was, but I was out almost 2 hours, and got to O in the alphabet using a new double A to Z playlist. To wit...

Playlist (the playlist is too long to tag every artist, which has been happening more and more as I run farther)

Andy Warhol -David Bowie
Armagideon Time -The Clash
Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos -Public Enemy
Burning Down the House -Talking Heads
Celebration Day -Led Zeppelin
Confusion Fog -Meat Puppets
Day Tripper -The Beatles
Diamond Dogs -David Bowie
Enchanted Pork Fist -Meat Puppets
Egg Man -Beastie Boys
Funky Dollar Bill -Funkadelic
Frank's Wild Years -Tom Waits
Gabrielle -Ween
Go With The Flow -Queens of the Stone Age
Hang On St. Christopher -Tom Waits
Here Comes Your Man -Pixies
I Against I -Bad Brains
In Heaven There Is No Beer -Brave Combo
Jack-Ass -Beck
Jimmy's Got A Little Bit of Bitch In Him -Funkadelic
Kaw-liga -Hank Williams
The KKK Took My Baby Away -The Ramones
Les Yper-Sound -Stereolab
Little Sister -Queens of the Stone Age
Maiden's Milk -Meat Puppets
Moonage Daydream -David Bowie
A Night In Tunisia -Dizzy Gillespie
Novacane -Beck
One Nation Under A Groove -Funkadelic


Times
L1 (Home to Moores Mill overpass) 13:13
L2 (Moore's Mill to Ogletree) 11:50
L3 (Ogletree Rd) 31:49
L4 (Stop Sign to Shel Toomer) 7:38
L5 (Shel Toomer path out) 15:06
L6 (Shel Toomer path back) 15:07
L7 (Chewacla to stop sign) 8:09
L8 (SS home) 8:34
Total 1:51:26

According to the GoogleMaps pedometer link, this route was about 11.8 miles, so I think I'm almost ready for a half marathon!

Helping Haiti 5k

Yesterday it snowed. They say it is rare for Alabama, but in the four years that I've lived here it's happened twice. It's very beautiful, I must say, but it did give me pause this morning as I got out to hit the road for the Helping Haiti 5K. I got to see a friend from my lab there and her fiance. It was nice to catch up with them a bit before the start. Also, I donated my two old pairs of trainers (yes, the ones with the dog poo on them, freshly scraped were one of those pairs). So now I am down to my one pair, which are probably almost ready to be replaced. Maybe for my birthday in May.

I got off to a good start, as I watched the top runners jet out in a knot. I stayed in the less dense second knot of runners, including one kid maybe 10 or 11 who I passed after the first half mile or so. He finished strong, under 30:00 minutes, I believe. Most of his contemporaries ran in the 1 mile, so I know that kid will probably go far, literally and figuratively. For my own part, I stayed about in the same spot for most of the course, after the first mile, although I did have an older gentleman overtake me in the last mile. I finished in just under 24:00 minutes, probably 23:56 or so, which I'm happy with given what I've been training at, the weather conditions (not too icy, overall), &c.

After I finished, I cheered Becca and John in, as they ran together. They made it in under 30:00 as well, which Becca was quite happy with. I ate some bananas, drank some water, chatted with a couple I recently met who are headed off to Africa next month, and brought some doughnuts home for my girls. I'm still paranoid about cholesterol and trying to get my weight down, so no doughnuts for me. We had pizza last night, and given my new phobia I'm glad I didn't wake up dead. Everything in moderation, I suppose, including moderation.

Playlist. The same as the other day, Sissyneck-->Clampdown.
Time 23:56 or so. I'll call it an unofficial PB, at least in the Auburn era of timed running.

Dogs

New tune-o-matic. They did rush it right back to me after the previous one got smashed in the face, although at a high price. I've been trying to get out again for a few days, and didn't get out until this evening. It was pretty chilly out there, so I donned the spandex. Tonight's theme: dogs. No reason really, just dog songs. Out to Chewacla and back. Pretty quickly.

Playlist
Atomic Dog -George Clinton
Diamond Dogs -David Bowie
Black Dog -Led Zeppelin
Gin and Juice -Snoop Dogg
Do the Dog -The Specials
The Next Episode -Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg
If You Don't Give A Doggone About It -James Brown
Rebel Rebel -David Bowie

Times
Length 1--> 8:21
Length 2--> 7:17
Length 3 and 4 --> 15:46 (couldn't thumb the split)
Total--> 31:24 Pretty quick, all right. A new best, but not by much. I think the low temps kept me moving along.

Rain

So it wasn't really raining when I went out, but it was earlier, and I thought I'd have a rainy playlist. Nice and cool, comfortable in my spandex and long sleeve T, out to Chewacla and back. Tomorrow we hit the road for Charlottesville, where we'll spend Thanksgiving with my folks. Hopefully more running with Ba.

Playlist
Come in Out of the Rain -Parliament
Look at the rain -Meat Puppets
Rainy day woman -Waylon Jennings
The Rain Song -Led Zeppelin
She's a Rainbow -Rolling Stones
I can stand the rain -Ann Peebles
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall -Bob Dylan

Times
Length 1-> 8:09
Length 2 -> 7:10
Length 3 -> 7:44
Length 4 -> 8:26
Total -> 31:29
Slowed down a bit on the way back. Not sure why. But in reviewing, this is a new best for this route. Huzzah!